“But I also realize that winning doesn't always mean getting first place; it means getting the best out of yourself.” ― Meb Keflezighi

Training Recap – Wk2 RnR DC

Monday: CHRISTMAS DAY! We enjoyed a delicious bloody mary bar with all of the fixings, cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and a huge sushi platter for Christmas dinner. Presents were opened, pictures were taken, and no miles were ran.

Tuesday: I hit the treadmill in my new Brooks Levitate shoes! I did a 3 mile progression run, slowly building up to half marathon pace and then did a .5 cool down. I really enjoyed the shoe a lot and can see myself purchasing a few more pairs for rotation.

Wednesday: 5 recovery miles on the treadmill while watching Friends. I could watch Friends re-runs all day long, so I fully enjoyed this run, even if it was on the crappy treadmill.

Thursday: Speed work day on the Dreadmill. My plan called for 7 x 400 at 5k pace. I did my recoveries as a .1 easy jog. Then I added in a mile cool down afterwards. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to maintain the pace as it’s been quite some time since I hit that pace.

Friday. 5 recovery miles on the treadmill. Boring, boring, boring. These miles were actually pretty hard mentally because I just wanted off the stupid thing. Sometimes the “easy” treadmill runs are mentally harder. I like playing with speed and incline to make the run go by faster.

Saturday: 10 mile Long Run….OUTSIDE! Woo hoo! I was going to get up and run with RRC but I overslept. So when I finally dragged myself out of bed, I immediately got dressed and headed outside. I bought some Yaktrax Run with my christmas money and decided to give them a trial. They worked really good but I never realized how difficult running in the snow truly is. The snow adds a ton of resistance and it’s best not even to worry about pace but more about effort. It was crisp and sunny outside even though it was a chilly 14 degrees. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the animals out and about, looking at the deer tracks, and smelling the fresh air.

That afternoon my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin came to visit our new home. It was so sweet of them to make the drive up. We were supposed to see them a week prior but the weather was terrible. That’s the problem with trying to make plans in Upstate NY during the winter months. We exchanged Christmas presents and the girls had fun playing barbies with Aunt Jessica the entire time.

Sunday: New Years Eve. I really went back and forth about going to the gym. They were only open until 1pm and I really did not want to get out of my pajamas. If my plan had called for easy miles, I may have skipped it but it called for a warm up, 3 miles at Half marathon pace, and a cool down. I didn’t want to skip a key workout so I bundled up and drove to the gym. We got about another 6 inches of snow overnight and it was still snowing, so I wasn’t about to go outside. It was also negative 15 degrees real feel. Not a chance. I hopped on the treadmill, did 1 mile warm up around 8:45 pace, then hunkered down to a 7:30 pace for two miles, for the third mile I pushed the pace a bit closer to 7:20. I ended with a cool down around 9:22 pace. I could feel my calves getting tight, an issue I’ve been dealing with for almost a year now. My new rollers will be here soon and I’m hoping its just a matter of lactic acid build up that my legs aren’t used to yet. Fingers seriously crossed.

Week 2 thoughts: I always fear that treadmill workouts wont equate to road workouts. The thought that just because I did the prescribed workouts doesn’t mean I could do them on the roads at the same pace/effort. i’m working on finding little ways to challenge myself on the treadmill so that I stop thinking this way.

I really enjoyed getting fresh air on a cold run and I look forward to doing it again next week hopefully. I also realized that I need to sign up for a 5k soon so I can test out race pace. This weather makes it hard for me to want to go out and race though. Other than that, I think it was a successful week of mileage buildup with some key work outs.

As I head into 2018 I have some big goals in mind. I’m settled in our new home and I’m ready to take on the challenge of being the best version of myself. This goes both for being the best mother and best runner I possibly can be. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead of me for 2018.

Post navigation

3 thoughts on “Training Recap – Wk2 RnR DC”

As far as treadmill workouts go… maybe they are a little easier physically but I think it is harder mentally. I don’t think my half marathon pace outdoors equals what I would set the treadmill to when I was doing those workouts, but the fact that I stayed on the machine an hour to run it (this included a warmup and cooldown) challenged my brain and that helped me stay mentally “in” the race. Short intervals have to be tough on the treadmill because it takes the belt a while to get up to speed. I don’t think it would be a deal breaker either way. Theresa trained a LOT on the treadmill for her marathon and had a great finish time and PRed so I don’t think it’s TOO off?

Thanks! I’m starting to think that maybe they are just weak or it could be Lactic Acid and my legs just aren’t used to it like they used to be. I remember running speedwork on top of doing 2 5k races a week and I haven’t don’t speed work in so long. I wonder if that could be the reason my calves feel that way?

I’m glad to hear that Theresa trained mostly on the treadmill. I don’t mind running out here in the snow and ice but it is impossible to do Tempo or speedwork. I usually increase the speed on the treadmill and wait 10 seconds before I start “counting” the interval to give the belt a chance to catch up to pace. I’ve tried to use my garmin on “indoor run” and it’s never the same as the treadmill. It really just depends on my arm swing it seems. I’ve been setting the treadmill to 1% incline on most runs to add a little resistance as well. I guess I’m just a worry wart.

During the summer I did all my tempo runs on the treadmill and I was fine. I usually do them there even when it’s not summer because it’s hard to find good places to do them here. Granted I’m all injured and janky now, but I feel like I still met my goals doing the tempo runs on the treadmill. Plus, it’s not like you’re doing ALL your runs on it. You’re still getting out in the winter snow a lot and that is very impressive. Honestly I just wish I could run right now, treadmill or not. Injuries are the pits.